Indeed the media could very well spring media on WWE entertainment calling them out for the past steroid trials. I really don't think WWE has to worry about any part of the blame in this case. Several people have been on steroids in different sports and most haven't done an action like this. Still, I take WWE's article arguing against "roid rage" a bad idea at this early point in the situation. Its too early to even assume what went on in that house so why bother fanning the flames with an anti-roid rage article? Simply post your regards and leave it alone.

Vince McMahon's corporation never seems to keep things simple. Dare I bring up the Brian Pilman situation where they had Pilman's wife on the night AFTER his death? Or how about the two hour long tribute to Owen Hart after he died from a stunt that the organization set up. I just wish they'd post one message of remorse and leave the whole situation alone. Everything else just comes off as tacky.

I'm no stranger to the world of wrestling up and downs. I was an avid fan all up until Vinnie Mac bought out WCW, ECW and just about everything else. Wrestling has always gotten a bit of a shaft when it comes to legitimacy in sports fan's eyes. These guys are serious athletes and stuntmen who work hard. One horrid act from a single employee should not deter people from the sport.

I've never been a fan of any kind of wrestling, but I think this shows that the human heart is indeed a dark and dangerous place. RIP to the wife and child, and may this man find true justice before God, not the knee-jerk reactionism of this misinformed world.

Reading all the comments on this subject I feel Tombofanubisdotcom is looking in the right direction. Not that anyone should defend WWE, McMahon nor Benoit. Many companies are like the WWE when it comes to handling things wrong.

We are just bystanders watching the news. We shouldn't judge, but if you watched Benoit's in ring persona over the years he seems like this type of person. Even in Monday nights tribute the other wrestlers commented on him even though they were meant as "positive" comments at the time. Most of the more successful pro wrestlers live their character all the time. They are always in character. You are how you act. We've all met these type people before in real life. Even though Benoit played basically a crowd favorite his persona was always a bit intense. You can't act like that in real life. Add that to this steroid thing and you have quite a brew.

What ever drove this person to do this I hope it's all resolved in the afterlife and may they all find peace. The world can be a sick place.

In the end everyone is wrong except the innocent. Surely the son was innocent. It's a real tragedy.

Does anyone know the "full" scoop on the Kevin Sullivan's and Nancy's relationship? I always wondered about the WCW angle between the fued involving Sullivan/Benoit/Nancy that was played out on TV.

Vince McMahon's corporation never seems to keep things simple. Dare I bring up the Brian Pilman situation where they had Pilman's wife on the night AFTER his death? Or how about the two hour long tribute to Owen Hart after he died from a stunt that the organization set up. I just wish they'd post one message of remorse and leave the whole situation alone. Everything else just comes off as tacky.

Though I vaguely remember the fallout from the Pilman death, I do know that his wife had to have consented to being on the show, so as morbid as some would see it, it was her choice to go through with the interview. Additionally, I figure that such a thing is no more morbid that news programs harassing the families of murder and accident victims mere hours after their own tragedies, showing up on their doorsteps or even confronting them at the scene of the incident to get those all important ratings grabbing reactions of overpowering anger or remorse.

As far as both the Owen and Eddie tributes went, I don't think the fans or the other wrestlers would've let something like a simple "our condolences to their families" go. I remember watching the wrestlers on both such shows doing memorial interviews for both men and some even breaking down into tears because they cared so much for the guys. I'll never forget watching the colossal frame of Paul "the Big Show" Wight trembling as tears streamed down his face while talking about Guerrero. Hell, "Sensational" Sherri Martel just died a couple weeks ago and all I seemed to hear about it online were wrestling fans who felt the WWE didn't do enough by simply doing what you mentioned and posting their regards and condolences and briefly discussing her passing on television, and she hasn't been an active televised wrestling personality for years. Even that moderate backlash could have been part of why the company was so quick to do the Benoit tribute on Monday night, considering he was not only an active talent, but was also one of their most popular performers. If things hadn't turned out so gruesome and the WWE hadn't gone ahead and done the tribute special, the fans would've thrown a huge fit. Granted, what did happen is much worse than what could have happened, but when you're trying to keep hold of an already dwindling audience, you're going to try and appease the fans as much and as soon as possible.

Still on the topic, Benoit's long time friend and wrestling legend Bret Hart was interviewed on Fox News today: "Bret Hart joined FOX News live tonight speaking about the Benoit tragedy. He says he has known Chris Benoit since he was 11 or 12 years old and that he was a remarkable little kid who was obsessed with wrestling. Just a few years later Benoit learned how to wrestle at around 16 or 17, and his whole life was about wrestling. He says that Benoit was one of the best in the business, and that everyone backstage loved him.

Hart says that he Benoit had a lot of respect for everyone, and he was a leader in the locker room who carried the ball for the roster and implemented respect in the young wrestlers. Hart says that Benoit has 2 other children, and he has spoken to the oldest of the two who is very confused by the whole thing but is staying strong.

Bret says that Benoit has likely used steroids throughout his career, but that he thinks when Eddie Guerrero died, WWE’s new drug policy was strong enough to prevent drug abuse in the company. He doesn’t think that steroids played a role in the murders.

He closes off the interview saying that he never knew anything was wrong with Daniel’s health at all, and was shocked to hear the reports about whatever disease it was that he apparently had. He says he never heard Chris ever say anything was wrong with his son." (taken from headlineplanet.com)

This just makes me more convinced that Benoit had a lot of issues to work out that he didn't want other people to know about and it all eventually crushed him, especially the stress of being on the road 300 days a year and still trying to help raise a special needs child. Also from headlineplanet.com - "World Wrestling Entertainment attorney Jerry McDevitt confirmed, according to an Associated Press report, that wrestler Chris Benoit and wife Nancy argued over how to care for their son Daniel, who suffered from Fragile X Syndrome, in the days leading up to the double homicide-suicide.

“I think it’s fair to say that the subject of caring for that child was part of what made their relationship complicated and difficult, and it’s something they were both constantly struggling with,” said McDevitt. “We do know it was a source of stress and consternation.”

While Nancy did not want Chris to quit wrestling, she did ask that he spend more time at home to assist with caring for the child.

McDevitt said, “[She] wanted him to be at home more to care for the kid. She’d say she can’t take care of him by himself when he was on the road.”

They also argued about where to send the boy to school."

As sad as it is to buy into the sensationalism of such a tragedy, I'm very interested in hearing the toxicology report findings.

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"Don't make me stain my last clean shirt with the back of your head." - Shatter Dead"A grizzly bear with a chainsaw. Now THERE's a killing machine!" - The Simpsons"I've always wanted to make love to an angry welder." - Jaws: the Revenge

So the matter's entirely black and white to you? It's not possible that the guy snapped, went completely against his personality and killed his family and then himself in the aftermath? I'm not sympathizing with Chris Benoit the murderer, I'm trying to understand Chris Benoit the stressed out professional and family man who couldn't handle his own problems, lost it, did something horrible and couldn't deal with the reality of the tragic mistake he'd made. You make it sound like the guy was simply another Ted Bundy who enjoyed cold blooded killing so much that he decided to do it to his own wife and son. It's not possible he wasn't in his right mind? We're all predetermined to be who we are from the start every day of our lives and nothing can change that? Nobody's blaming Daniel. People don't make the choice to be handicapped. Some people go insane from the task of raising perfectly healthy kids, let alone special needs children. I've got a few friends, all of which have gone through depression and massive amounts of stress in raising their kids. If I thought Chris Benoit was just a immoral bastard who killed his loved one because he wanted to, I'd condemn him right away. Instead I'm trying to look at this with an open mind and put the pieces together as they're made available. Obviously killing people isn't justified, but there's a difference between someone planning out someone's murder and someone freaking out. This is why we have our criminal justice system has varying degrees of murder and the concept of "temporary insanity" exist. As cliched as it sounds, there really is no black and white, just different interpretations of what shade of gray everything is. We can't just give red laser guns to the good guys and blue laser guns to the bad guys and let them sort out the world...

« Last Edit: June 28, 2007, 12:51:02 AM by tombofanubisdotcom »

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"Don't make me stain my last clean shirt with the back of your head." - Shatter Dead"A grizzly bear with a chainsaw. Now THERE's a killing machine!" - The Simpsons"I've always wanted to make love to an angry welder." - Jaws: the Revenge

I have to agree that someone who kills both their wife and child is having more than just a glitch in their personality. Something was seriously wrong with him, especially since he seems to have had time to consider his steps.

I cannot consider killing someone unless I need to do so to defend myself or others. Simply killing because you "have problems" is not something I can accept. He might not be a cold and methodical murderer like Bundy, but he was not a man as I define one.

Again, do you think someone is born insane, or are they driven insane? Are we predetermined to be of one mindset, or can people be affected by their lives, their jobs and their general situation? I repeat, I'm not condoning any murder, I'm not excusing Benoit, I'm trying to get people who are jumping to conclusions about this or any similar situation to acknowledge that people all have a breaking point and that anyone, given the worst of circumstances, can be driven to commit heinous acts of madness. Whether it's a drug addiction or a mental illness or intense stress, can you really tell me that people don't change, even for one incredibly f*cked up weekend? Andrew, as a military man yourself, you're telling me that stress doesn't screw people up? That you've never heard of the typical "he was such a nice guy and never hurt anybody... until last night" story on the news? You're saying that there has to be some defect with every person that is driven to kill unless it's an act of self-defense? People lose it. We're not all walls, no matter how much anyone would like to think they are. We have breaking points. We have tolerance levels. I don't care if someone's spent half their life as a choir boy and became the next Gandhi, everyone has a breaking point and I think Benoit reached his.

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"Don't make me stain my last clean shirt with the back of your head." - Shatter Dead"A grizzly bear with a chainsaw. Now THERE's a killing machine!" - The Simpsons"I've always wanted to make love to an angry welder." - Jaws: the Revenge

I cannot imagine that Benoit ever encountered anything comparable to the scenes you will see in warfare. Still, if a Marine went to war, saw dead insurgents, encountered children wounded in crossfires, and also saw other Marines killed that they had known - I would still say there was something wrong with them if they came back home and killed their wife and child. I cannot view it any other way. Even ignoring the fact that a man can think and reason, there are mental safety mechanisms in us to prevent that sort of thing.

I went to Iraq, saw some things that still, every few months, give me a nightmare. I had one the night before last. I saw far less of it than a true Marine Infantryman or Military Policeman that was face to face with it every day. Still, I came home and fell right in with my family. I know other Marines, who were deep in death and blood a few times; they came home and go through about the same things as me. Now and then a sudden crack of thunder or firework will make us jump or drop to the deck. We perk up when we hear certain sounds that would be a warning over there. Every now and then we have nightmares. So what? If I kill my family, I am a f***ed up thing that is of no use to society ever again. Maybe they should find out what caused me to break, sure. However, me as a man, as a human being - worthless, forget me, end of story.

Okay Andrew, you've established your position on the topic and you're obviously very firm in your thinking. As has been the case at times in my life I'm going to go with the old "agree to disagree" adage, allow you (and anyone else) their opinion on the matter (as is anyone's given right in this country) and hope that everyone who agrees with you can allow me to continue paying tuition at my own school of thought without thinking that I'm encouraging the murder of women and mentally retarded children. That last part wasn't a snipe, I'm just making note yet again that I don't endorse what Benoit did to get my actual feelings on the subject down in digitized print to I have something to refer to in case anyone here is secretly Bill O'Reilly. I still believe though that Chris Benoit had problems both mental and stress related, and it's because of people such as him that psychiatrists exist: if not to fix people than to at least bang out a few of their psychological dents enough that they can avoid destroying themselves or the people around them.

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"Don't make me stain my last clean shirt with the back of your head." - Shatter Dead"A grizzly bear with a chainsaw. Now THERE's a killing machine!" - The Simpsons"I've always wanted to make love to an angry welder." - Jaws: the Revenge

You will not find me attacking you for your point of view my friend. I have a very firm view on this one and will argue it, but certainly agree that the world goes around (and gets better) with varying opinions and there is no way I could say that I will know all of them.

Let's not forget Benoit's very likely use of many drugs, including painkillers and steroids. I've also read that Benoit was prone to bouts of paranoia over the past year where he believed he was being followed and that someone was after him. The whole thing doesn't add up in any discernible way to me. Benoit truly never seemed the type to commit such an heinous act but then I've heard that said about many other who've committed similar acts in the past (assuming he did and honestly I'm still not fully convinced and I doubt I ever will be...some things just don't add up at all [sending text messages to friends to point out the locations of the bodies, etc.] if you consider what some others said about the man, still it doesn't mean he didn't do it either). This is one of those things you just can never make sense of no matter how hard you think about. Apparently Benoit and his wife were injecting growth hormone into Daniel as well due to their belief he was undersized, likely a result of the dwarfishism from the Fragile X syndrome. Benoit was a tremendous wrestler, one of the best of all time, it's so sad that things ended this way for a man who was once an hero to so many.

See, once again, I'm glad to be finally be a part of a forum where the majority of the people posting aren't of the "I'm right, you're wrong, let's fight about it until you call me your daddy and agree with everything I tell you" persuasion. I don't know how you do it, but thanks Andrew.

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"Don't make me stain my last clean shirt with the back of your head." - Shatter Dead"A grizzly bear with a chainsaw. Now THERE's a killing machine!" - The Simpsons"I've always wanted to make love to an angry welder." - Jaws: the Revenge

Here's the truth about Psychiatry. It only works if that person wants to fix it. You could go to thousands of visits and still not show any improvement. You have to want to get better for it to work. Benoit did not want to get better, otherwise he would of.

I don't care if he snapped, was on roids or was messed up on death Shrooms. The bottom line that is undisputable is that he killed his family. He is a killer. Nobody thought he was capable of it but now it is known that he is. Killers can live false lives for many years and never once give the indication that they are that way. He made a living being an icon. At the end of the day, nobody truly knew what he was until it was too late. Benoit is obviously not the person that people thought he was. Deny it all you want, but serial killers live completely normal lives until the truth comes out. At least Benoit had the decency to die afterwards.

And, as I've said, deny it all you want, I think that this could've been prevented and it was a tragic mistake made by someone not in their right mind. My opinion isn't just the blind denial of a wrestling fan, it's based on my view of the situation as an outside observer sorting through the information I've been given. Again, with all due respect, I can just as easily say that anyone who believes the "he's a ruthless killer, plain and simple" is in denial that the world isn't as simple as they'd like to believe. Once again, agree to disagree. Call it playing devil's advocate, call it sitting on the fence, but that's where I stand. If everyone believed the same things as everyone else the world would be one big compound of grinning idiots nodding their heads to each other all day on their way to getting their microchips serviced.

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"Don't make me stain my last clean shirt with the back of your head." - Shatter Dead"A grizzly bear with a chainsaw. Now THERE's a killing machine!" - The Simpsons"I've always wanted to make love to an angry welder." - Jaws: the Revenge